Social Media to bring fashion to the masses

  Kate Ogata inherited a love of fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff his mother, who taught him to look for deals on clothes, so they can afford to splurge on expensive handbag designer.

For years Ogata conducted a secondary Minkoff handbag, before his own gray "Morning After Bag" with silver hardware, when she was 21 years old. He identified pocket of his Creator signed accents a mile away.

Ogata would never predicted that his devotion should design it Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Send in New York Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2013 fashion show on Friday, setting the branch manager of 24 years in the same room as have fashion insiders influential and all kinds of celebrities, Olympian Sanya Richards-Ross and Ryan Lochte actors Hailee Steinfeld and Kristin Chenoweth.

"This is an opportunity of a lifetime. How often do you get to see a fashion show in person?" Ogata said she was at the Lincoln Center, the main venue of the week every two years where brands showcase their collections for the season Sitting next.

Ogata would not be the Holy Grail of fashion this year without a little help from modern technology. Last month urged fans Minkoff Instagram images as "rock" of designer styles. Ogata responded with pictures of his favorite bags with the hashtag # RMCatwalk and won two tickets to the Rebecca Minkoff runway. The price does not include airfare, so distended with the help of his mother, Ogata enough money to visit New York to San Francisco with her sister for three nights, so that she could attend the show.

While a ticket to a live show is the big score, white fashion addicts do not need to be in New York to see trends as soon as they hit the airstrip. The proliferation of online fashion portals, live streaming and social media to bridge the gap between brands and consumers in order to dilute the world of high fashion more accessible than ever before, said insiders. And perhaps nowhere is this trend more developed evidence Fashion Week.

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"It was a kind of authoritarian relationship between the brand and the consumer," said Uri Minkoff, CEO of Rebecca Minkoff, the. Also the older brother of the Creator "Shows were for publishers and buyers. Buyers should place their orders and publishers gathered their thoughts and four to six months later, a product that has hit the bottom. So really, the consumer price index in the dark and did not know what the trends to they hit the ground, and even in this case, the choice was very curator.

"What is fascinating is now using social media that you get all the time," he said. "As a designer or brand shows their character, not only do you have editors and buyers, but the most important platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to critical real-time. You have another layer added on the editorial pages."

This was a special event that has received little attention outside of a cultural touchstone exploded drawing of a variety of celebrities, bloggers and industry employees, as well as the curious lurking observed and documented fashion show.

"Shows like" Project Runway "and" Fashion Star "made sure that everyone feels entitled to participate in the fashion," said Brandon Holley, editor in chief of Lucky magazine. "The national entertainment compared to an industry must-do, must-attend event was."

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Sites like images directly from the beam track Style.com, fashion blogger to do so, the images of the first row and instantly share images on social media. New York Fashion Week shows much live airstrip, broadcast so that viewers grasp the collections in real time, adding brands such as Rebecca Minkoff social stream their live stream, so that users can see what others are saying.

"It varies from designer to designer, but I think most have accepted these developments and really enjoy more direct interaction with consumers," said Dirk Standen, the editor of Style.com. "He's the world famous designers in a way that they. Might not become before, fashion is a form of entertainment on a par with Hollywood in many ways

Style.com was the first place to take pictures of moving within 24 hours more than ten years ago published, now people complain if it takes more than an hour, and the level of impatience begins to expand the availability of collections " were told. "Democratization of the slow mode is a blessing and a curse for the industry, trying to figure out how to be feed the appetite of consumers on a shorter schedule than traditional industry,

"The consumer sees the look on the runway and he loves and wants right now, but obviously it is not in the store for months," said Standen. "It is beginning to change, but it's obviously a very complicated process and logistics."

This discussion is a different question whether traditional seasons luxury consumers, whose offices are heated in winter, air conditioning in summer and apply often travel around the world, he said.

No matter what happens on the agenda, many think Fashion Week is still the best way for brands to convey their experiences supernatural mark.

"Even with Project Runway and Fashion Star, people always think of fashion as the culmination of all the work behind the scenes," said Fashionista Editor Leah Chernikoff. "In the cities of New York and other fashion itself, it is a tradition that seems as much a part of the culture of the cities. I think we will certainly continue to see changes, but we do not see it soon disappear."

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To meet the growing demand for instant gratification, some brands have tried to sell the start and runway collections or consumers looking to pre-order through e-commerce site Moda Operandi. The company, in response to the fact that the buyer usually assumed to only a fraction of the collection that was more marketable stores, said Aslaug Magnusdottir, founder and CEO of Moda mode. In addition, when customers pre-order a dress or a skirt, having them on the track, she placed a deposit of 50%, which is sent to the developers at large to pay, in a rare case, obtained in advance.

"Designers get real consumer feedback before finalizing the production decisions. It's better than a Facebook" like "or tweet, because those who do not necessarily translate into sales," she said.

Mode Moda worked with 250 marks in the last New York Fashion Week in February and plans to repeat that success this week. They also plan a function November immediate delivery for customers who love to start the season instead of months, the typical cycle in detail shop.

Some brands are distributed with a digital parades staged and filmed in advance and experiment during Fashion Week, with the permission of the creative and production agency KCD, which produces most of the shows for Fashion Week. Finished goods that are hosted online, including additional assets such as images and videos of scenes, interviews, close-ups of the hair, makeup and products.

"We have the digital watch industry, retailers and publishers who go to shows and buy must create media collections, so that the markings reach the same target audience, but not to force them to physically participate," said Rachna Shah, KCD Digital CEO. "However, this also soothes the appetite of the consumer."

KCD Digital has launched the product in the salons of the season in February to life and produces three to debut this Fashion Week in New York: See by Chloe, which was recorded in Paris, ICB, shot in Brooklyn, and Pierre Balmain Beijing.

Digital fashion shows are not meant to replace the traditional parades, but merely an alternative for brands that do not offer the same or public attention, when to show them to live their lines trying Shah said. How the presentation format in which designers stage run their models instead, parades to save digital time and money for a young brand, or even a search flexibility.

Customization and commitment are always higher priorities for start-ups in the hope of. From the scene An example of a platform for collaborative commerce, the consumer is able to play fashion designer Stylyt. Contemporary brands present fabrics, colors and shapes of their collections and allow users to create their own branded product. The community then votes Stylyt and manufacturing brands winning designs are sold only Stylyt.

"Social media has fundamentally changed the way people shop and discover altered fashion. Consumers have better access brands and expect an open and authentic," said co-founder Nina Cherny. "We take these conversations about Facebook and Twitter, consumers with a visual and material involved feel. Let consumers play fashion designer for their favorite brands not only gives consumers a real voice, but also provides brands with a visual, interactive and predictive way to find out what consumers want to buy before stores results be something. "

Haute couture, less labels

The project is ready for the public launch this fall with an eye toward collaborations with brands like Timo Weiland.

Despite these innovations, the biggest game changer, how brands interact with the fans still relatively early attempt on social media, especially for older brands to reach new audiences, said Chernikoff. Maybe they can not afford the high-end products they want, but I hope they will someday.

"Part of the idea of ​​luxury is out of the scope and ambitious," she said. "For them, the difficulty of straddling social media is to be made available to new customers, but you want to reveal too much. These designers are trying to find what works for them and how to find the right balance."

Others, like Rebecca Minkoff went widespread, since they started. Shortly after its introduction in 2005, Minkoff noticed that the user can speak on the purse blog forum about their products and what worked. Sun and jumped Minkoff joined in discussions about problems with some styles, perform usinge feedback for improvements and changes to components such as pockets, buckles and hardware, said Uri Minkoff.

Since then, the brand strives to be ahead of the curve with each new social media tool. His Facebook page, which has more than 86,000 fans, was a good way to watch Brands flow and try to scale feedback, said Uri Minkoff. Twitter has been a small update, mobilization competitions and treasure hunts among the 66,000 supporters of the big brand. Instagram by brand currently earns 500 to 800 days, new trailer with photos 1800-1900 average profit loves image.

Though Kate Ogata Rebecca Minkoff follows on all platforms, Instagram is by far her favorite, she said. One blogger even enjoyed, Ogata's voice and personality Minkoff brings its presence in social media and take cues from inspiration Minkoff.

"It inspires me to try new things, but to be true to myself," she said. "Do you see her as a real person and not just a label in a pocket."

Use social media to communicate with your favorite designers or buy exclusive fashion collections? Share your experiences in the comments below.